The invention relates to an installation for treating food products with a substance, such as for coating a meat product or a vegetable product with a batter, comprising a container in which the coating substance can be accommodated, two endless conveyor belts located one above the other, those parts of which that face one another extending through the container enclosing a gap for feeding the food products through the coating substance, the upper conveyor belt being accommodated on an upper frame that is mounted by means of adjustable supports such that it can be moved up and down with respect to the container in connection with adjustment of the width of the gap.
An installation of this type is disclosed in EP-A 1 106 067. This known installation is intended for treating food products in a heated fluid, such as cooking oil. In another known installation the container contains a coating substance such a batter or tempura. Such a substance is prepared in advance and has, inter alia, a large number of gas inclusions which contribute to the specific characteristics thereof. It is not advisable to pump a substance of this type, since this structure of the substance would be destroyed by pumping.
For these reasons the food products are immersed in the substance. The conveyor belts force the food products below the nominal level of the coating substance in the container. By this means it is ensured that the food products are completely coated on all sides.
The width of the gap between the conveyor belts can be adjusted depending on the thickness of the products. Consequently, for each product the correct driving action can be transmitted by the conveyor belts, such that the products can be fed through and immersed at a specific speed. The positions of the products with respect to one another also remain the same, such that the products are transported in accordance with a fixed, constant pattern.
In the known installation the width of the gap is adjusted by a central control. The upper conveyor belt is accommodated on a frame that is mounted, such that it can be moved up and down, on the frame of the lower conveyor belt by means of adjustable supports, which adjustable supports are coupled to the central control.
The frame with the upper conveyor belt can be moved easily up and down by manipulating the central control. Changing the settings of the installation for processing other products can thus be carried out rapidly.
The adjustable supports of the installation disclosed in EP-A 1 106 067 comprise wedge-shaped elements that can be slid over one another. The aim of the invention is to provide an installation with adjustable supports which are simpler and make it possible easily to remove the upper conveyor belt for cleaning the container. According to the invention, to this end the adjustable supports each comprise a lever and a fixed support. Each lever is mounted such that it can pivot and movably interacts with the associated support.
In case the lower conveyor belt is accommodated on a lower frame, at least one of the levers can be mounted on the upper frame or on the lower frame, and the corresponding support can be mounted to the other of said frames.
In particular, at least two levers can be provided, each of which forms part of a seesaw, which see-saws have see-saw arms which are oriented towards one another and are joined to one another at their ends by means of a rotaryjoint that allows mutual sliding movement. One of the see-saws of each pair of see-saws is connected to a rotary element that is provided with a central operating lever. The lever of the see-saw connected to the rotary element has an extension that is connected to the rotary element by means of a rotary joint that allows sliding movement.
In connection with stable support of the frame, two pairs of see-saws are preferably provided, each pair of which is on one side of one of the frames.
Furthermore, a scraper element can be present underneath the upper part of the lower conveyor belt for scraping off coating substance adhering to that part, which scraper element is located above the nominal level of the coating substance in the container.
If the conveyor belt is constructed as a wire belt consisting of pieces of wire that are oriented transversely and hingeably joined to one another, the scraper element must have a profile that corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the wire belt.
The scraper element has a locating projection at both ends, each locating projection being held in an associated support on the lower frame such that it can be removed.
The scraper element can, for example, have a square cross-section. Consequently it can be mounted in various positions with different degrees of rotation. As soon as the scraping edge of one of the sides of the scraper element has worn as a result of prolonged sliding contact with the conveyor belt, the scraper element can be turned such that a fresh scraping edge that is not yet worn becomes available.